SEOUL, South Korea — The USS Carl Vinson strike group joined South Korean ships in joint war games on Saturday, hours after the North defiantly test-fired a missile despite international pressure to halt its nuclear weapons program. The maritime drills — the second in less than two months for the aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships — were taking place in the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast, South Korea’s navy said. The U.S. Navy described the exercises as “routine operations and training in the Western Pacific,” but the drills were occurring against the backdrop of sharply rising tensions in the region. U.S. Pacific Command said it detected a missile fired from a site near the Pukchang air field earlier Saturday, but it apparently exploded over land shortly after takeoff. “The missile did not leave North Korean territory,” said Cmdr. Dave Benham a spok...